


Heartbreak and Friends

by LittleTayy



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-13
Updated: 2012-06-13
Packaged: 2017-11-07 15:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/432827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleTayy/pseuds/LittleTayy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The beginnings of a friendship between David and Regina.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heartbreak and Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Written just after Kathryn went missing.

It was late when he came, after Henry had been tucked in to bed and while Regina was still doing paperwork. When she opened the door she was surprised and ready to turn him away but then he looked at her and he looked so lost and heartbroken, she just couldn't. She let him in silently and beckoned him to follow her into the parlour where she poured them both a glass of apple cider.   
She wondered why he had shown up on her doorstep so late at night but didn't ask. The poor man looked fragile, like only a string was keeping him together and when she thought about it, it made sense. It had only been a little while since he'd lost his wife (albeit estranged) Kathryn and the tentative relationship he had with Mary Margaret. He has heartbroken and if there was one thing Regina Mills knew in her life, it was heartbreak.   
"How are you?" She asks carefully, hoping to avoid tears or any other array of emotions she doesn't know how to handle.   
"I uh...I don't know. I'm just lost," David replied quietly, taking a sip of the strong cider, "I mean, Kathryn and I were separating and even though I didn't love her I never wanted her dead. She should have been happy," he continues and Regina just nods at his statements, not sure how to comfort him.   
"And Mary Margaret, I've made a complete mess of things with her. I know you're not her biggest fan Regina but I love her and now I don't know how to get her back. Its all so messed up and losing her-" he stopped suddenly, not having the strength to continue.   
"I know what its like to lose someone you love David," Regina says in an attempt at consoling the blonde man in front of her, "but at least your love is still alive," she whispers softly, hoping David will not hear.   
David however was listening acutely. Surprisingly, he actually valued what the Mayor had to say. It seemed like she is his only friend Storybrooke and he'll cling to that for all he's worth because right now, without Mary Margaret, he doesn't really the a lot of friends.   
He is curious by the brunette woman's words however. He had not known that she'd had a husband or a lover of some kind. There had never been any indication of it and the more vulnerable and softer side of the formidable Mayor tonight had him thinking it may be his only chance to learn something about her.  
"Were you married?" He asked cautiously, hoping the question wouldn't spook her.   
She looked at him for a moment, standing up and wrapping her arms around her torso. David thought for sure then that she'd kick him out for prying and then he'd hag no one to talk to.   
"I was married yes but he died and I did not love him," she replied softly, still not looking at him.   
"Tell me about your heartbreak, please. I need to know I'm not the only one who has ever felt this way," David pleaded softly as she too stood up, standing by Regina's side.   
Everything was still and quiet for several moments after making his request and he was sure she'd show him the door. Instead however, she turned to face him, her dark brown eyes burning with the heartache he felt in his own heart. He had never thought Regina could be anything but cool, calm, collected and cold. He wondered briefly how many other people had been privy to seeing their illustrious Mayor without the cement walls surrounding her very being.   
"I was young, very young in fact and I fell in love with the most amazing boy," she started her voice soft and reverent, "He was everything to me, _my world_. We were going to marry but my mother; she wanted me to marry someone with power and influence. She and my father believed in arranged marriages and they had arranged for me to marry a man I did not love. We had planned to run away together but my mother...she was controlling and...and abusive and when she found Daniel and I trying to leave... She was furious, furious enough to leave me with a scar," Regina said her voice trembling and her finger drifting across the scar on her lip, "I had never seen her so angry. I don't even know how it happened but...she killed him - all because I love... _loved_ him. A few weeks later she married me off to another man and that was it," she finished, her voice taking on a strangely dark and dangerous edge as she talked of her lovers’ death.   
She didn't dare to look David in the eye, she did not want anyone to see how truly damaged and broken she was. She could not believe she had actually told him that but she did not regret it. She needed to tell someone her story for a long time and who better than her seemingly only friend in Storybrooke?   
"Regina, that's...that's horrible. I am so sorry you had to go through that," he told her sincerely.   
He thought about what she'd said and wondered how she'd found the strength. An abusive mother, murdered lover and a loveless marriage and yet she was still standing, still getting along with her life. He was barely handling the murder of a wife he didn't love and the breakdown of a relationship; he was kind of in awe of Regina and the strength she seemed to possess.   
"It’s not your fault. All those things occurred before I even met you," she replied stiffly, her barriers starting to go back up.   
"Still, how'd you get through it Regina? I'm barely holding it together and my situation is infinitely less tragic than yours," he said gently taking hold of her hand and squeezing reassuringly. Regina is taken aback for half a moment before her face is neutral again. She squeezes his hand back quickly before dropping and speaking again.   
"I barely got through it but the pain and the rage it chipped away at my soul," she whispered, "Don't let the same happen to you David. You're a good man," she tells him, pulling her hand from his.  
It only takes a moment for David to decide what to do and then another to actually wrack up the nerve to do it. While they are face to face he quickly swoops forward and wraps his arms hesitantly around her slender figure. He feels her stiffen for a moment before she relaxes just a bit and her own arms wrap hesitantly around his own body. The hug is a little bit awkward but comforting nonetheless and as he pulls back he is glad he's made the move.   
Regina, much to his surprise, also looks content with the hug. Her face is relaxed and her eyes soft and he really hopes that they can continue to share like this. He likes Regina, even if she and Mary Margaret never got along and he likes to think they were friends. Now though, he knows undoubtedly that they are friends and he is sure she is probably his only true friend in Storybrooke.   
"I um, should be going then," he says and makes his way to leave. He stops at the doorway of the parlour and turns to her again, "Thank you," he says and continues on his way out.   
As she hears the front door close behind him, she finally speaks, "No, thank you" she says, as a small smile graces her features.   
She is surprised to find that she has, hopefully, found a friend in David Nolan. Maybe even her only true friend in Storybrooke.


End file.
